Benjamin McKean
@blmckean.bsky.social
associate professor of political science at Ohio State University // global justice, supply chains, populism, climate change, critical theory, etc // all tweets (skeets?) produced accidentally by having my phone in a pants pocket while I walk the dog
"I still think environmentalism is basically bad" is just his old "sweatshop workers should have the freedom to die making my clothes" shtick but applied to climate change. Casual indifference to human suffering is his M.O. and always has been, since he became famous for supporting the 2003 Iraq War
November 19, 2025 at 12:44 AM
"I still think environmentalism is basically bad" is just his old "sweatshop workers should have the freedom to die making my clothes" shtick but applied to climate change. Casual indifference to human suffering is his M.O. and always has been, since he became famous for supporting the 2003 Iraq War
I don't think Jim Jordan is all for protecting innocent victims
November 19, 2025 at 12:29 AM
I don't think Jim Jordan is all for protecting innocent victims
Ohio State folks! The Starbucks near campus on High and Lane has a picket line this morning - please join if you can! And regardless of location, please respect the boycott and don’t buy Starbucks while workers are on strike
November 18, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Ohio State folks! The Starbucks near campus on High and Lane has a picket line this morning - please join if you can! And regardless of location, please respect the boycott and don’t buy Starbucks while workers are on strike
Still wrapping my brain around “Ohio State women’s basketball, presented by Anduril”
so are the players, by the looks of it
so are the players, by the looks of it
November 17, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Still wrapping my brain around “Ohio State women’s basketball, presented by Anduril”
so are the players, by the looks of it
so are the players, by the looks of it
My department tried to designate a small space for quiet reflection but somewhere along the lines the message was garbled, so I tried my best to correct the typo and make the sign work
November 17, 2025 at 4:25 PM
My department tried to designate a small space for quiet reflection but somewhere along the lines the message was garbled, so I tried my best to correct the typo and make the sign work
I have loathed Larry Summers for 25 years and yet this is still more awful and grotesque than I expected.
Great reporting and write-up by the student reporters of @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
Great reporting and write-up by the student reporters of @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 3:06 AM
I have loathed Larry Summers for 25 years and yet this is still more awful and grotesque than I expected.
Great reporting and write-up by the student reporters of @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
Great reporting and write-up by the student reporters of @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
Went to a dog show for the first time this afternoon and I have questions
November 16, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Went to a dog show for the first time this afternoon and I have questions
Kinda bummed to miss the Philosophy Politics & Economics Society conference this year - let me just check out the agenda and see what’s happening there this afternoon. Oh. Oh no. Yiiiiiiikes.
November 15, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Kinda bummed to miss the Philosophy Politics & Economics Society conference this year - let me just check out the agenda and see what’s happening there this afternoon. Oh. Oh no. Yiiiiiiikes.
At Ohio State University today, your campus event is allowed to have a Nazi salute but not a land acknowledgment
November 14, 2025 at 10:00 PM
At Ohio State University today, your campus event is allowed to have a Nazi salute but not a land acknowledgment
I know that look
November 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I know that look
This is not an exaggeration by the way - note the university's response to Myron Gaines's Nazi salute on the left (condemn but allow) and their policy restricting land acknowledgements on the right (prohibited from event programs, meeting agendas, etc)
November 14, 2025 at 7:54 PM
This is not an exaggeration by the way - note the university's response to Myron Gaines's Nazi salute on the left (condemn but allow) and their policy restricting land acknowledgements on the right (prohibited from event programs, meeting agendas, etc)
Adorno had Spotify dead to rights in 1938 (don’t think he would have been a huge King Gizzard fan either tho)
November 14, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Adorno had Spotify dead to rights in 1938 (don’t think he would have been a huge King Gizzard fan either tho)
You don’t have to be the parent of an eight-year-old to find this absolutely horrifying but I am and I do
November 10, 2025 at 5:34 PM
You don’t have to be the parent of an eight-year-old to find this absolutely horrifying but I am and I do
TFW it snows in early November
November 10, 2025 at 1:51 PM
TFW it snows in early November
I’ve always taken this mural at the Columbus airport for granted but I have decided to appreciate it as one of the visible public uses of a semi-colon I can think of
November 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I’ve always taken this mural at the Columbus airport for granted but I have decided to appreciate it as one of the visible public uses of a semi-colon I can think of
This is the meanest thing I’ve ever seen anyone say about Mamdani
November 6, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This is the meanest thing I’ve ever seen anyone say about Mamdani
I’ve done plenty of Vogel posting about yesterday’s election, but what do people make of the Columbus school board election results? Seems like DSA endorsing Lynch and CEA endorsing Keyes were just swamped by the Franklin County Democratic Party sample ballots. Campaigning made no difference at all?
November 5, 2025 at 11:29 PM
I’ve done plenty of Vogel posting about yesterday’s election, but what do people make of the Columbus school board election results? Seems like DSA endorsing Lynch and CEA endorsing Keyes were just swamped by the Franklin County Democratic Party sample ballots. Campaigning made no difference at all?
Comical framing from WOSU - Vogel’s grassroots support “forced” Ross to corruptly accept $155K from the incumbents who picked to run? Come on. It’s Columbus’s ridiculous system requiring Vogel to run citywide that forced him to raise like $500K just for a chance at a single city council seat!
November 5, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Comical framing from WOSU - Vogel’s grassroots support “forced” Ross to corruptly accept $155K from the incumbents who picked to run? Come on. It’s Columbus’s ridiculous system requiring Vogel to run citywide that forced him to raise like $500K just for a chance at a single city council seat!
Check out this comparison - in Detroit, for their City Council, also for their District 7, progressive Denzel McCampbell wins the seat with the backing of DSA. How many votes did he need? He won a city council seat with a little over 7K votes. In Columbus, Vogel wins more than 50K votes and loses.
November 5, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Check out this comparison - in Detroit, for their City Council, also for their District 7, progressive Denzel McCampbell wins the seat with the backing of DSA. How many votes did he need? He won a city council seat with a little over 7K votes. In Columbus, Vogel wins more than 50K votes and loses.
Well, the Columbus establishment can rest easy a little longer - Vogel is down about 1500 votes with 99% precincts reporting.
As in the primary, Vogel handily wins District 7 but narrowly loses citywide, thanks to the city’s ridiculous fake ward system. Time for real electoral reform in this city!
As in the primary, Vogel handily wins District 7 but narrowly loses citywide, thanks to the city’s ridiculous fake ward system. Time for real electoral reform in this city!
November 5, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Well, the Columbus establishment can rest easy a little longer - Vogel is down about 1500 votes with 99% precincts reporting.
As in the primary, Vogel handily wins District 7 but narrowly loses citywide, thanks to the city’s ridiculous fake ward system. Time for real electoral reform in this city!
As in the primary, Vogel handily wins District 7 but narrowly loses citywide, thanks to the city’s ridiculous fake ward system. Time for real electoral reform in this city!
with 53% of the vote in, starting to think Vogel may pull this off - it would be a political earthquake in Columbus, Ohio, as he'd be the first outsider candidate not handpicked by the establishment to be elected by city council in living memory
November 5, 2025 at 2:52 AM
with 53% of the vote in, starting to think Vogel may pull this off - it would be a political earthquake in Columbus, Ohio, as he'd be the first outsider candidate not handpicked by the establishment to be elected by city council in living memory
ironically this study makes me have less trust in social scientists
November 4, 2025 at 1:31 PM
ironically this study makes me have less trust in social scientists